Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Delivers 84 MPGe

Jim MacPherson

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica raises the bar for minivan makers. It combines the ride and handling of a sedan with a minivan’s room and flexibility, all wrapped up with a comfortable, quiet and upscale interior.

Now, Chrysler has expanded the Pacifica lineup with a plug-in hybrid that delivers up to 33 miles of travel on battery power alone. After that, the gasoline engine steps in to give the Pacifica Hybrid up to 570 miles of range before refueling and recharging are required.

For minivan shoppers who want to significantly reduce their gasoline consumption without having to compromise, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid has a lot to recommend it.

Two trim levels are offered, a very well-equipped Premium version and the top-of-the-line Platinum model that Chrysler loaned us for this review. Both vehicles use a modified version of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 that powers the non-hybrid model. In this case, the engine adopts the Atkinson cycle of operation, which through clever valve timing effectively produces a longer power stroke than compression stroke. Output drops from 287 horsepower in the non-hybrid version to 260 horsepower, a rating that includes the output of the two electric motors powered by a 96-cell 16kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

The transmission is an electronically variable unit, think CVT, that sends power to the front wheels. The up side for this drivetrain is an EPA rating of 84 MPGe, a figure no other minivan can approach. The downside includes cancellation of the very handy second row Stow ‘n Go seats. In their place Chrysler uses two second-row bucket seats that must be removed and stored outside the vehicle when maximum cargo capacity is needed. The third-row seats, however, tumble and fold to form a flat load floor. When raised, the well that holds the folded third-row seats forms an ideal cavity for holding grocery bags. Also missing in the hybrid is the built-in vacuum cleaner option.

The second row Stow ‘n Go seats, which fold flat into the wells beneath the floor in the non-hybrid Pacifica, had to go because their storage wells were commandeered for the lithium-ion batteries. Another downside to the hybrid is the purchase price. The base model starts at a lofty $41,995. It is nicely equipped, though, and the battery pack size allows buyers to take advantage of a $7,500 federal tax credit and a $1,500 CHEAPR rebate in Connecticut. Check with your tax advisor for full details. Those two incentives can bring the price of entry down to $32,995.

Even the base Pacifica features an upscale leather-upholstered interior, active noise cancellation, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and three-zone automatic climate control. To this, our Platinum model added an upgraded infotainment system with navigation, and the Uconnect Theater with its three-channel wireless headphones, Blu-ray DVD player and 10-inch HD seatback video screens. The Platinum model also has the Advanced SafetyTec Group.

Driving the Pacifica Hybrid is very much like handling the non-hybrid version, which means you’ll enjoy responsive handling, though the steering feel is light. Acceleration is more than sufficient for family use. Our sprint to 60 miles per hour took 8.7 seconds. Braking is reassuringly smooth and progressive with the regenerative braking function meshing nicely with the standard friction brakes.

Recharging can be done from a 120-volt household circuit (Level 1) or a 240-volt Level 2 charging station. Level 2 recharging takes about 2 hours while the Level 1 recharging we used requires up to 14 hours.

Our 134-mile fuel economy route, done over two days with recharging between the runs, required 2.3 gallons of gasoline and 29.45 kWh of electricity. That brought the average cost per mile for fuel to an estimated 7.5 cents, a better than 40 percent reduction over what you would expect to pay in a conventionally powered minivan.

Based on its higher price, however, I don’t expect this hybrid to become the top-selling version of the Chrysler Pacifica anytime soon. But for shoppers who want to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, it deserves a look.

Paula Says:

Driving the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan on electric power is a very pleasant experience. As with other electric vehicles, The Pacifica is quiet and velvety smooth. To be fair, it is nearly as refined when the gasoline engine is powering the car. Seating is comfortable, the ride is steady and quiet and the handling makes it easy to forget you’re driving a minivan.

Safety features in the Platinum version are extensive and include a 360-degree camera system that shows what is all around the car on the central infotainment screen. Also standard on this model are lane departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and forward collision mitigation braking, among other features. The lane departure warning and lane keep assist worked well, though this last feature did allow the car to stray more from the center of the lane before stepping in than is the case with some other vehicles we have driven with this feature. This Advanced SafetyTec package will also park the Pacifica automatically in either a parallel or perpendicular parking space.

The interior is spacious, though competitors, such as the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, have a little more cargo room. The Pacifica is rated at 140.5 cubic feet behind the first row seats; the Odyssey has 148.5 cubic feet; and the Sienna 150.0 cubic feet. One other issue with the Pacifica Hybrid centers on trailering. It is not recommended with the Hybrid, but non-hybrid Pacificas are rated to tow up to 3,600 pounds.